On Friday Rav Shteinman paid a visit to a yeshiva to participate in a siyyum made by the yeshiva boys. When he got there and saw some of the tables covered in red tablecloths, he asked why they put a red tablecloth there, as red is a color of goyim.
Obviously they quickly removed the tablecloths, based on what Rav Shteinman said.
source: Ladaat
I guess it makes sense, if red is not a modest color, it would not be used by Jews, and is therefore a color for non-Jews alone. I am just surprised that I never heard such a thing before, and it seems the rosh yeshivas and rebbes in that yeshiva and rabbonim elsewhere, never did either. The opposition to red is generally specifically regarding women's clothing and it specifically references tzniyus issues, not imitating the non-Jews.
Now you know - stay away from red, and not just on women's clothing.
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The issue with red is because of chukat akum as R' Shytenman said. There is anither issue of tzniut and there is a machloket as yi whether the chukat akum applies today. If you need sources I'll look it up later.
ReplyDeleteWhich Chok requires non-Jews to wear red?
ReplyDeleteIt's the Rema in Hilchos Chukos HaOvdei Kochavim (Yoreh Deah 178:1)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=9146&st=&pgnum=245
He does only mention it about clothing. Lav davka women's.
I'll start davening right away that god start changing the color of all jews blood to another color as we shouldn;t have red blood if the goyim do. Hey a new business - figure out how to dye jews blood a different color!
ReplyDeleteMany shuls have a red Parochet, or red mantle on Sifrei Torah.
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons we change the Parochet to white for RH/YK is the Passuke in Yishiyahu (1:18):
לְכוּ־ נָ֛א וְנִוָּֽכְחָ֖ה יֹאמַ֣ר ה אִם־ יִֽהְי֨וּ חֲטָאֵיכֶ֤ם כַּשָּׁנִים֙ כַּשֶּׁ֣לֶג יַלְבִּ֔ינוּ אִם־ יַאְדִּ֥ימוּ כַתּוֹלָ֖ע כַּצֶּ֥מֶר יִהְיֽוּ׃
Or to remind us of the red thread on the scapegoat that turned white.
this symbolism only makes sense if the Parochet was red to begin with.
Red is also the color of malchus, and a place of Torah is a place of malchus and therefore should have red coverings.
ReplyDelete"Now you know - stay away from red" ... when Rav Shteinman is around :-)